Toddler standing on chair.

This little boy is unidentified. However, the photo comes from the home of Overton Dunsmore, Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Blondish haired girl

This little girl is unidentified. Her coloring matches mine, however. The photo was taken from the home of Overton Dunsmore, Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, W.V. This is one of my favorite photos from his group of photos.

Women inside fence on farm

These two women are unidentified. However, the photo comes from the home of Overton Dunsmore on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, WV.

I am assuming that both women are Black. The woman on the right looks like my grandmother, Dora Jane, who was Black - though this is not her. On the other hand, the female on the right could be a Caucasian woman. Though I doubt it.

Two ladies standing and one sitting.

These ladies are unidentified but the photo came from the home of Overton Dunsmore on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Young boy - barefoot.

This little boy is unidentified. However, the photo came from the home of Overton Dunsmore of Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Overton Dunsmore's mother was "Jennet", the daughter of Socrates Haynes. Jennet, was my grandfather's first cousin. So these photos could include some of my family members. In fact, a photo of my grandmother and grandfather was found in the group of pictures as was a photo of my grandfather's sister. And "Jennet" raised my father's first cousin, Bertie. And, of course, the Payne and the Haynes family of this area are the same family (descended from Martha Ann Payne Haynes Jones).

Tintype - Two men

This is a tintype of two unidentified men. The tintype, however, comes from the home of Overton Dunsmore on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Would love to hear from someone who knows about photo dating regarding the possible date of this photo.

Man with mustache wearing hat.

This man is not identified but the photo came from the home of Overton Dunsmore on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

Young men in boots & hats

These young men are not identified but the photo came from the home of Overton Dunsmore on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, WV.
Note that when I blew the picture up I could see that they were not actually wearing boots but some other type of leg covering. Would love to receive a comment about what these are called.

Girls in doorway

These girls are unidentified but the photo came from the home of Overton Dunsmore on Brushy Ridge.

Girls sitting on chair

These girls are not identified but the picture came from Overton Dunsmore's home on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, WV.

Women on farm

These women are unidentified but the photo came from the Overton Dunsmore home on Brushy Ridge.

In his dissertation, (see citation in previous post), Earl C. Clay states, on page 92, that Greenbrier County residents "are essentially rural minded".

Earl Clay's dissertation - 1946

The ladies in this photo are unidentified at this point in time. However, the photo came from the Overton Dunsmore home on Brushy Ridge.


In his dissertation, THE NEGRO IN GREENBRIER COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - A SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND EDUCATIONAL STUDY, (1946) (A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Division of Graduate Studies of Virginia State College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Education) Earl C. Clay states, on p. 65:

"Picnics are the favorite outlets for recreation of Negroes in Greenbrier County"... "movies ... second" ..." followed by parties and dances" ... "while there are no pool rooms in the county, 123 persons indicate this as their favorite means of recreation".

Mary "Jennet" Haynes Dunsmore / Mrs. Frank Dunsmore

The back of this photo says "Mrs. Frank Dunsmore of Sinks Grove" and then it appears to have the directions to her home (... Ronceverte ... on road) but it is written and pencil and fading.

Mary "Janet"/"Jennette" Haynes Dunsmore was born on 7/6/1878. She was born to Socrates (Payne) Haynes (who was the brother of my greatgrandmother, Elizabeth Jane Payne Haynes Lewis) and Barbara Moore/Martha Moore Haynes. She was the wife of Frank Dunsmore and the mother of Ola and Overton Dunsmore. She was the adoptive mother of Bertie Constance Haynes (Dunsmore) Holmes. She was the granddaughter of Martha Payne Haynes (and possibly Burton Payne). She was the stepgranddaughter of Solomon Haynes and Peter Jones.

In the 1880 Census she appears in Monroe County, a mulatto female, age 3, daughter of Socrates Haynes (enumerated as Mary Jennett Haynes). In 1895, on May 17th, she married Frank Dunsmore at the Sinks Grove Baptist Church. The informant for the marriage was Lewis Nickell. The officiant was the Rev. O.T. Harris (enumerated as Janet). She appears on the 1900 Census in Monroe County, 2nd Creek, Black female, age 21, b. 7/1878, wife of Frank Dunsmore. She had one child, and that one child was still living. (enumerated as Jannett).

She appears on the 1910 Census in MC, 2nd Creek, as a black female, age 31, wife of Frank Dunsmore (she is enumerated as Mary J.).

She died on 8/19/1958 in Monroe County at Sinks Grove. She was 80y1m13d. By the time of her death she was a widow. Her death information indicates that she was the daughter of Socrates Haynes and Martha Moore. The cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage. She is buried at the Mt. Zion Cemetery (Sinks Grove/Neff Orchard Road). The informant was Overton Dunsmore of Sinks Grove.

In an interview with her relative, Mary/May Fay Dunsmore Johnson on 6/25/2002, she indicates that the true name of "Jennette" was Mary Jennet Haynes and that she may have had a brother named Edward. Ms. Dunsmore indicated that she had posession of a photo of Jennet with Edward in the corner.

Unidentified church - Unidentified Pastors

Hopefully someone will be able to identify this church and these pastors. I am assuming that it must be a church in either Monroe County - near second creek; but more likely in Greenbrier County.

Haynes family photo

This is a Haynes family photo, but, unfortunately, no one now living is able to identify who these ladies are.

Dunsmore photos #2

Unidentified baby.

Dunsmore photos

Unidentified girls.

Dunsmore / Haynes

This photo was owned by the family of Overton "Opie" Dunsmore. The family lived on Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County. Opie Dunsmore was the husband of Reona Douglass Dunsmore. He was the son of Frank and Mary "Jennette" Haynes Dunsmore. He was the grandson of Socrates (Payne) Haynes and Barbara/Martha Moore Haynes. He was the brother of Ola Dunsmore and the stepbrother of Bertie Constance Haynes Holmes*.
Socrates (Payne) Haynes was the older brother of my greatgrandmother, Elizabeth Jane (Payne) Haynes Haynes Lewis and they were the children of Martha Payne Haynes (wife of (1) Burton Payne; (2) Solomon Haynes; & (3) Peter Jones).
Overton took care of the Neff Orchard Road Cemetery until his death. Overton died around 1997.
This photo was part of a shoebox of photos given to me by Elaine Carter. The photos came out of the house at a time when the family was preparing to sell the house.

*Bertie was the daughter of Cora Haynes. Cora was my grandfather's sister. Cora was the daughter of Mansfield and Eliza Dawson Haynes.

ANNIE MATTHEWS PERKINS

These are two photos of the gravesite of Annie Matthew Perkins at the Old Colored Cemetery in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Annie Matthews Perkins was the daughter of William M. Perkins and Adonia Avery Perkins.

She appears on the 1910 Census in Greenbrier, Lewisburg as an infant, daughter of William and Dona Perkins. She is enumerated as "Annie M.".

West Virginia Death Certificate # 12685 indicates that she died on 10/28/1928 at 19 years old at Fayette. She was a black female, single, a school girl, ? date of birth, daughter of William Perkins and Dona Perkins. Her usual residence was Lewisburg. The cause of death was - "C & O train # 101 struck car at Montgomery crossing. Fractured Skull. Shock." She was buried at Lewisburg on 11/1/1928.

An interview that I conducted with a Lewisburg resident on 1/10/2006 revealed that Annie was travelling with "Juanita's mother and Juanita's two brothers" to see a friend who was away at school. They were struck by a train and all were killed". Following this interview I did further research and found that Annie was in the car with Josephine Cooley Jackson (see WVDC # 12683) and her sons, Charles Walter Jackson, age 17 (WVDC # 12682) and Tearance B. Jackson, Jr., age 14 (WVDC #12684).

LEWIS SKIPPER

This is a photo that I took of Lewis Skipper's gravesite at the Old Colored Cemetery in Lewisburg, West Virginia. The cemetery is located behind Carnegie Hall.

Lewis Skipper appears on the 1880 Census in Greenbrier County, Lewisburg District as a 36 y.o. black male, who works in a tan yard, b. in Virginia, with Mary (36), James (20), Hezekiah (7), Amelia (6), and domestic servant - Eliza Choice (45) & Hugh Pollack (2) (who was an other relationship).
He is listed in the 1880 MARSH index for Greenbrier County.
He is listed on the 1900 Census in Greenbrier, Lewisburg, no age given, with Melia/Amelia Lacy (25), Maggie Brown (20), Frances Brown (2), Robert Meadows (31). In this census he is enumerated as "Lewis Kippers".
Greenbrier County Death Records reveal that he died on January 28, 1903 at 56 years and that he was born in Fincastle.
West Virginia Death Certificate # 12967 reveals that he was the father of Amelia Lacy who died in Greenbrier County in 1922.

Shoveler, Shovler, Shuvler & Shuffler

In my compilation, BLACK RESIDENTS OF GREENBRIER, MONROE, POCAHONTAS, AND SUMMERS COUNTIES - WEST VIRGINIA by Carol Haynes, I "intermingle" like-sounding names because oftentimes individuals show up on different documents with their names spelled differently. One such name is Shoveler, Shovler, Shuvler; and Shuffler.

For instance:

GEORGE GOEN/GOIN SHOVELER

Mr. Shoveler was the husband of
(1) Mary J. Burk Shoveler &
(2) Ellen Shovler; and
(3) Caroline Bishop Shovler

On 9/9/1875, Goin Shovler married Mary J. Burk in Monroe County (MC). He was 22 and born in Summers. She was 21y. The informant was Houston Nickell of the Red Sulphur Springs District of Monroe County. The officiant was Rev. Baber. They were married at Nancy Burk's house. A permission slip by Mary's mother, , Mary J. Burk, inidcates that Goin Shuvler is 22 years old. (listed as Goin Shuvler).
He is listed on the 1880 Census, Summers County, FHD, as "Goins Shuffler". He is a Black Male, 26, farm laborer, with Ellen (24), Rosa (4), and with Nannie ?Goin (8).
On 6/14/1899, George Goen Shoveler married Caroline Bishop in Monroe County. He was 39, b. in Roanoke. She was 24, b. in Giles. The officiant was Rev. Baber and they were married in the Reverend's residence.
(note the difference in his stated birthplaces)
In the book MONROE COUNTY CEMETERIES - MT. CARMEL AT BALLARD (BLACK) - 1855 -1934, he is listed as G.G. Shoveler.
West Virginia Death Certificate #15323 indicates that he died on 11/20/1934 at 83y10m at Greenbrier County and that he was a black male, widowed, laborer, a cook, and the son of Goens Shoveler. The cause of death was organic heart disease.

The other "Shoveler's" that I have listed in my compilation are:
Annie Shovler Bowlinger, wife of John Bowlinger
Caroline Bishop Shoveler, wife of George Goen Shoveler
C.E. Shoveler
Ellen Shuffler
Ellie Burks Shoveler, wife of George C. Shoveler
George C. Shovler
George L. Shovler
Goens Shoveler (father of Goens Shoveler)
Henry Shovler
Henry E. Shovler
James Shovler
Jessie M. Shovler
Lula Shovler
Mary Elizabeth Shovler
Mary J. Burk Shovler
Rosa Shuffler
Sara Shovler
W.R. Shovler

William Henry Haynes

My dad was William "Bill" Henry Haynes and he was born in New Haven in 1926 after his parents, William "Hubert" Haynes and Dora "Jane" Kelly Knight Lee Haynes (photos below) moved there from Lewisburg (and Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County, West Virginia) to New Haven, Connecticut. He is the grandson of George Washington Haynes (photo below), who was from Sinks Grove, MC, and Brushy Ridge, GC and Elizabeth Jane Payne Haynes Haynes Lewis (who was from Fayette and then Brushy Ridge & finally Gallipolis, Ohio when she married her second husband, Sheridan Lewis).
http://sillyputtyhistory.blogspot.com/ is about my dad and his involvement with Silly Putty Marketing (New Haven, Connecticut).

Carol Haynes
New Orleans

New blog by this blogger

See http://sillyputtyhistory.blogspot.com/

My dad managed Silly Putty pretty much from its inception in 1949 to his death in 1976. His parents, William "Hubert" Haynes and Dora "Jane" Kelly Knight Lee Haynes Midder,were from Brushy Ridge, WV and Lewisburg, WV, and his sister still lives in Lewisburg, WV. This new blog is only very minimally related to the AA Genealogy WV blog (describes the lives of descendants of Greenbrier/Monroe counties). Nevertheless, come visit!!

Inspiration for this blog came from one of my followers. "Local is Global - Michael Marcus". Thanks Mike. I may not write a book about enslaved West Virginians but I can certainly write short blurbs about other things. Baby steps.

Thanks,

Carol Haynes